October 1, 2007
Posted: 08:30 PM ET

Watch John King and Wolf Blitzer, members of the Best Political Team on TV, discuss what Christian conservative leaders may do to influence the 2008 presidential race.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — The frustration of social conservatives in the Republican Party appears to have boiled over.  A group of powerful social conservatives announced recently that they may back a third party bid for the White House in 2008 rather than support GOP frontrunner Rudy Giuliani.  Watch John King's report about the threat to the GOP posed by leaders of the party's social conservative base. 

Filed under: Rudy Giuliani


laurinda,ny   October 4th, 2007 7:12 am ET

CARRIE DUNNE FROM MICHIGAN, My husband works for GM. He is a UAW member and the union always goes for the Democrats. You are a traitor, shame on you.

Carrie Dunne, Canton, Michigan   October 3rd, 2007 9:49 am ET

I come from a blue-collar, union family (GM & UAW). I am a die-hard Democrate and a woman. My vote for the "best" presidential candidate had been between Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson (leaning more towards Mr. Thompson). Unfortunately, due to Mr. Thompson's comment that Hussein did have WMD, my vote now will go to Mr. Giuliani.

Anonymous, Somewhere, MI   October 2nd, 2007 11:10 pm ET

"There is no possible way they can win in 08 without the so-called religious right.

Posted By Paul, Inez, KY : October 2, 2007 12:43 pm"

Hi there Paul. Why don't you guys see if you can put the most club-wielding trogladyte conservative you can on the ticket and win it when we moderates jump ship from you and vote for Bloomberg. There, I said it, I'm sick and tired of the "we'll take our ball and go home" attitude from the extreme right. You all are done controlling the nomination of the party. If you don't nominate Giuliani, we bolt, and we run OUR 3rd party candidate, and you see how well you guys do when you alienate the center.

Ed,Ellenville,New York   October 2nd, 2007 10:23 pm ET

I hate to break it to you guys,but Rudy is on our side,socially,even if he won,no social conservatives will have a voice anyway. Whether they vote or not is irrelevant and Rudy's going to have gay weddings on the WH lawn and celebrate their disgust. Or Hillary's going to win and be really respectful of their poor little feelings. Win/win in my book,most of us democrats don't hate republicans for being republican,we hate them for being hypocritical theocrats. If Rudy wins by Hillary's help,that's fine with me.

Conservative James, Phoenix AZ   October 2nd, 2007 2:24 pm ET

Social Conservatives will swallow their "values" and vote for Rudy if nominated. The threat of a 3rd party assures Hillary would win and NONE of their issues would have a voice in Washington.

Ain't gonna happen!

Chris, Middletown, CT   October 2nd, 2007 1:52 pm ET

The religious minority will be forced to vote for Giuliani – if Hillary runs against him – it will be a double digit win for Rudy (even her own party mistrusts her)….and they will actually start to read through the DNC rhetoric machine…) – watch how angry the first poster will get….some of them are just nuts…

Paul, Inez, KY   October 2nd, 2007 12:43 pm ET

The Republicans are running so fast back to the middle it makes me sick! The most reliable voting base they have had since 1980 is social conservatives. Nearly 1 in 4 voters in 04 said that "values" were the single biggest factor in how they voted. There is no possible way they can win in 08 without the so-called religious right. Giuliani at the top of the Republican ticket will ensure a Democratic landslide.

Dave, Columbia, SC   October 2nd, 2007 11:50 am ET

that would be stupid on their part. first of all, their candidate would not win and they would cause a Dem nominee to win, which is what I thought they would not want to happen. clueless.

Mark Shrigley, Columbus, Ohio   October 2nd, 2007 11:04 am ET

Hillary's unfavorable rating is at 50%, and the conservatives want to leave the party if Rudy is nominated? If they stay home or vote for a third party candidate, they are letting the woman they hate most, waltz right into the whitehouse. So be it! This is nothing but pure madness by the right wing!
Mark Shrigley
FuzzySnake.com

Pete, T.S. FL   October 2nd, 2007 10:46 am ET

The "Religious Right" in our country is just as dangerous as the ones that we fight in the Middle East.

There I said it! You mix religion and politics and it becomes volatile. It is quite all right to be a person of faith but it is not acceptable to impose your faith upon others……..

The pro-life right wing nuts turn a blind eye when it comes to the death of my military brothers and sisters in Iraq! Shame on you!

Keep America safe by keeping religion out of government!

Mark, Shreveport, LA   October 2nd, 2007 10:06 am ET

This is why after 21 years as a Republican, I'm now a Libertarian. The religious right has ruined the GOP with their "abortion is the only issue we truly care about" platform.

Anonymous   October 2nd, 2007 10:04 am ET

WOO HOO!!!!
Run Fundies Run!!!!

LandoftheFree   October 2nd, 2007 10:04 am ET

In light of the morons leading this years election ballots. Any third party candidate has a chance.

Jo, Atlanta GA   October 2nd, 2007 10:03 am ET

The religious right will NEVER vote for Rudy…

They claim Hillary will make them vote. That will never happen either. They are no fools they know Hillary is better that Rudy. They don't want to stay home so they will field their own Nominee and see what their own party strength really numbers to in terms of votes.

Rocco, Wellington,Fl   October 2nd, 2007 9:37 am ET

Giuliani would be very bad for the country so anything that prevents a Giuliani Adminisration is OK by me.

A. Thomas, New York, NY   October 2nd, 2007 9:16 am ET

Giuliani alienates the social conservatives and the minorities, follows Bush blindly towardsd Iraq, and has demonstrated poor personal character in relating to family members (ex wives and kids), other than the two staged phoney phone calls from his current wife (or campaign manager?) in the middle of his public speech.

If he gets nominated by the republicans and gets scrutinised closely by the american voters, he will be trashed. Giuliani is the ticket to Hillary's win to White House.

Bill, Alabama   October 2nd, 2007 8:19 am ET

The social conservative, Bible thumping, religious right is so far out of mainstream America that they cannot find anyone to support in the large number of "would be president" Republicans running right now. These people live right off the edge of reality.

They are going to guarantee that there will be a Democrat in the white house which makes me very happy.

Steve, NY   October 2nd, 2007 8:12 am ET

Why threaten a third party bid when the real conservative candidate is right in front of their nose? The base needs to start rallying around Mike Huckabee. With the support, he can win the nomination and the general election.

Dan (Baltimore, MD)   October 2nd, 2007 7:55 am ET

As a Rudy supporter, I welcome the Christian Coalition to exit stage right. They are divisive and arrogant and turn people off from voting for the GOP. If the Republican Party was socially liberal and economically conservative then they would become the party of individual rights including property and the pursuit of happiness. As a former Libertarian who just registered Republican to support Rudy, I can say for sure that the Republican Party will add by subtraction. Seeing the CC lose their grip was the only way I would let that happen.

AJ; Montpelier, VT   October 2nd, 2007 7:48 am ET

Why dont we start calling these people what they really are, Religious Extremists. Using the term Social Conservatives is misleading. It's one thing to be conservative, it's another to actively go out and forster hate against others. These people are not much better than the Taliban. I sat go Rudy go!! THe sooner the Republican party is free of these awful people the better!

Chuck Ladouceur Trenton Ontario Canada   October 2nd, 2007 6:00 am ET

Here is a thought for a third party leader, RUSH LIMBAUGH the pill pusher, racist , bigot,self-centered, closet gay republican communist, white supremacist. YES WE IN CANADA ARE PROUD YOU ALL HAVE THIS NUTT BAR IN YOUR COUNTRY.

Steve   October 2nd, 2007 5:11 am ET

Re: Giuliani's dance with the abortion card:
"CNN,,Why are you bombarding us with all of these stories ?"

Um…let's see; because…I know! This guy's running for president, and the rulers of your party, the religious extremist right, has made abortion the NUMBER ONE ISSUE for the last 25 years?

Huh, Laurinda? Think that's it? Or is abortion *not*, in your opinion, important enough to talk about?

Please settle these and any other burning issues for this forum, and thank you.

Irene, Clearwater, FL   October 1st, 2007 11:38 pm ET

Fine by me.

We need a viable third party anyway.(not that I think anyone the Religious Right puts up would be viable in any way and would probably assure a Democratic win)

Lee, Mays Landing NJ   October 1st, 2007 11:30 pm ET

The social conservatives are making a lot of noise but in the end they will have no place to go and will support Guiliani, particlarly of Hillary Clinton is the democratic nominee, since so many of them have been listening to St. Rush, of Limbaugh, and believe that Hillary is the devil incarnate.

The social conservatives have a point though, they are just being used by the republicans, Even people like the Bush's never believed in all that poppycock, like creationism. But pander to them they will, mostly in words and gestures before an election.

Anonymous, Denver, CO   October 1st, 2007 11:25 pm ET

I wonder if those religous right wingnuts have any inkling of just how sick and tired most of the country is of their holier-than-thou schtick. Living in Colorado, I've personally had my fill of the hypocrisy and hate filled garbage spewed by James Dobson and his ilk, all in the name of Christianity. So, onward Christian soldiers – send in a third party candidate, split the conservative vote and ensure that a Democrat is elected to the White House in 2008.

Christian, Tampa FL   October 1st, 2007 10:38 pm ET

Fine by me. With conservatives fractured, Giuliani would have no chance of winning. I hope he wins the nomination, because he would guarantee a democratic victory in '08.

Jeff Spangler, Arlington, VA   October 1st, 2007 10:24 pm ET

Rudy represents a more centrist and moderate party than the radical religious right which has dominated for years, and that's not a bad thing. Hillary might benefit by being more centrist like Bubba's Democratic Leadership Council, but she won't. You run a campaign on the flanks, but win and govern from the center.

Karen, Orlando, Fl.   October 1st, 2007 10:21 pm ET

The best thing that could happen to the Republican party would be for the social conservatives to go start their own party and allow the moderates to reclaim their party. Maybe the Republican's can become the party they once were- the party of fiscal conservatives.

h.j. - des moines, ia.   October 1st, 2007 10:18 pm ET

Rudy saying he is open to abortion rights is the same as Hillary saying she'd go to war. These candidates are trying to reach out by being moderate.

John Starnes Tampa Florida   October 1st, 2007 10:03 pm ET

Maybe they will change their minds if he tells a few gay jokes then has Judith call him a few more times when the cameras are rolling? Maybe mention 9-11 JUST A LITTLE MORE OFTEN?

Ed,Ellenville,New York   October 1st, 2007 9:50 pm ET

Rudy may lose after all his work(probably) but he'll sure be a real american hero for taking back the republican party from those theocrats! I don't think the Tancredo's (what's that in english?) are helping him though. He better watch his diet,cheesesteaks might knock him off before he finishes the job.

laurinda,ny   October 1st, 2007 9:27 pm ET

CNN,,Why are you bombarding us with all of these stories ?

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